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Month: August 2015

I took my son Luke on his first fishing adventure today. We also were joined by my father. Allow me to take an inventory of whether it was a success:

1) did not fall in water ( that includes Luke as well ).

2) did not catch any fish.

3) ate chips, cookies, brownies.

4) got sunburned and muddy.

I would say, SUCCESS! Actually the day was about beautiful weather, a beautiful little boy and a beautiful opportunity where three generations converged to soak in a wonderful pastime.

This was the first time in Luke’s five-plus years that the three of us did something like this. At one point I looked up and vividly flashed back to a time when I went fishing with my heroes, my Dad and my Granddad. A cool déjà vu moment, that almost did not happen. You see old man Parky tried to take this…

Psalm 62:1 I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.

Recently, I left all social media to spend that time seeking Gods direction in my life. you don’t realize how much time you spend on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn until you stay away from it. so what I did was anytime I had the urge to fire up my iPad I went quiet or read my bible, or prayed or worshipped to wait on God. although I never heard Him say anything audibly to me, or had a vision or a dream about what He wants from me, the answer was perfectly clear in my heart.

he wants all of me. yes even a broken me. especially a BROKEN ME. and that’s where I have to let him be God. a big enough God to use me in any way he seems fit.

as many of you know God has created a new part of me through wood working. except for Mr. Bennett’s Industrial Arts Class at Delay Middle School I had never really worked with wood or any do it yourself projects per se. I watched my granddad forest make things out of scrap wood but that was the extent of my carpentry. but something has happened. I now can build furniture and do small wood projects. who knew? God knew!

a seed for a vision was planted by God. you see when I am working with my wood, I forget about Parkinson’s. its amazing. I feel normal again. my brain produces dopamine to regain a sense of purpose. it is a shot of fresh grace from God that is as good as any high that I have ever experienced. God is so good.

I don’t want to keep this all to myself. God truly has given me a burden to see people with degenerative brain diseases a chance to regain their dignity through arts and crafts and woodworking. furthermore, it is a chance to build community with folks who go into their shell and life passes by.

I need help. I need my community of brothers and sisters to make Shaky Chic a place for people who can create magic in their lives again. it will take resources. Money for a building, for tools. it will take volunteers who want to see people overcome the issues that they are dealing with. lets restore and reclaim lives through this opportunity from God.

you are not reading this by accident. pray what your part can be. pray that we will follow Gods direction.

Psalm 62:1 I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.

I started this blog over a year ago to give encouragement and tell stories of hope and of God’s grace irn difficult times. I did just that a few times and then it turned into a couple of rants on Christianity. Will you allow me to relaunch?

Indulge me for a moment. As you know or may not know, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease six years ago this week. I was experiencing tremors and rigidity in my body. I was told there were Four Stages of Parkinson’s and I was in Stage One. Furthermore, I was told that the Stages would play out over time between 10 -15 years. The Stages would go from noticeable tremors in Stage One to being take care of 24/7 and most likely dementia at the end of Stage Four. I would say that I firmly in Stage Three right now.

Why I am sharing this? I am a very proud and private man. Too proud I found out. Parkinson’s is a very private disease. I hate being stared at when I have tremors. I hated being told to hurry up when I was working. I hate that you notice immediately that something is different about me when you see me after for the first time in a while. I hate that my balance is so bad that I am afraid to go to functions, especially church. I hate that I only have energy in thirty minute spurts. Why am I sharing this? Because it’s not about me.

In my mind, I was going to use Parkinson’s to my advantage. I would hold conferences and teach people how to live victoriously. I believed that God would miraculously heal me and I could hold crusades. The fact is that God was way too much behind the scenes and not being allowed to lead.

This is about God. Parkinson’s is a tool to teach the Good News of Jesus Christ. I get the me part and not the Him part. I read the account in the bible were the apostle Paul asked God to remove an issue he was dealing with, three times. God told Paul that it was not about him. He told Paul that even though he was weak, he would be strong through the power of Jesus Christ. Paul realized that he was strickened with a problem or ailment to keep him from being proud. I get the picture.

It really has taken me six long hard and costly years to come to grips with Parkinson’s. It’s not about me. So what’s is it about? It’s about living not dying. One way we live is to tell our story. To share our victories. My victories the past few years are awe inspiring when you stop and review them.

There is so much more to this story. God has revealed to me a solid direction to carry out the next couple of years before I am incapable of doing so. I will conclude this lengthy blog tomorrow.
J